AUTHOR LINDSEY WINSEMIUS LINDSEY JOY LANSER
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New Book Exclusive Preview: How the World Ends

2/27/2019

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YA Post apocalyptic romance book: How the World Ends

Like YA Post Apocalytic books?

I've always got a couple projects I'm working on, and hundreds of ideas bumping around in my head.

The concept for my latest project came from my series Secret of Alba, which takes place a century after the world is devastated by global war. I kept thinking how much I wanted to tell the story of how the city of Alba came to be; the story of how technology became the world's downfall in a prequel to my Secret of Alba series. The infamous Cecilia Delacroix is mentioned frequently in the series, and why not let the readers meet her first hand?

The story is told from the perspective of Cecilia's daughter, Cleo, and a young man who saves her - in more ways than one.

I love end of the world stories, and if you know me, you can expect this adventure with a side of romance.

​Here is a peek at How the World Ends, Cleo and Linc's story. Let me know what you think in the comments, or subscribe to my blog to read more in future posts! 


​I jerk awake, the sounds of my muffled sobs fading away. Lilly still snores lightly beside me, undisturbed by my nightmare.

I’ve got to get out of here.

Throwing my legs over the side of the bed, I shuffle in the dark towards the door, needing some fresh air. Needing to get out and breathe.

I hurry towards the back door, the images from my nightmare still burned into my mind’s eye.

I burst through the back door, taking a few gasping breaths of the cool evening air. A hand touches my shoulder and a shriek escapes as I jerk back.

A dark shadow looms before me, blocking out the dim light of the moon.

“Shh, it’s just me.”

My heart slows at the low sound of Linc’s voice.

“You scared me,” I say needlessly. 

I see the flash of white teeth in the dark. “Sorry. Couldn’t sleep?”

I shake my head. “I dreamed…” I hesitate, not wanting to even say the words out loud in case it was true. In case Heather was lying somewhere, her beautiful eyes staring sightlessly at the sky.

“I can’t get the faces out of my head, either,” Linc finally says when I don’t finish. He holds out a large hand, and I take it without hesitation. He pulls me along beside him and we walk slowly through the darkened courtyard, the wall casting long shadows.

His hand is warm and callused, and my stomach flip-flops to feel it pressed to mine. I lace my fingers with his, and he pulls me closer to his side until I can feel the heat from his body against me. We walk in silence, past the barn where I hear the soft snuffles of Milly as she catches our scent, past the silent chicken coop where the hens are roosting, and through the herb garden with its many different scents. Linc bends down to grab a leaf and the smell of mint fills my senses. He tears it in half, offering me a piece. My mouth quirks as I take it, popping it hesitantly into my mouth.

The taste is potent as it travels over my tongue, cold and spicy all at once.

“Dad taught us how to clean our teeth with a cloth and use mint to freshen our breath, since a toothbrush is something we may have to learn to live without in an apocalypse.” Linc pulls me down beside him on the wooden bench under the avocado tree growing on the corner of the house.

“Your dad is pretty amazing.” I lean into his side slowly, and his arm goes around my shoulders as if we’ve been dating for years. It feels so good to be tucked into his side, and I let myself relax a little deeper into the embrace.

“I can’t believe how many things we just took for granted. Like toothbrushes.”

“And coffee.”

“Clothes that fit.”

“Shampoo.”

“Sushi.”

I feel Linc turn to look at me, giving a snort of laughter. “Sushi? I can’t say that is something I would add to my list.”

“Don’t underestimate the value of good sushi,” I return with a smile. 

Silence stretches between us, a comfortable silence, blanketed by the darkness. The earlier horror of my nightmare fades slightly as I sit in the crook of Linc’s arm, feeling safe and secure for the first time in days. Feeling a closeness like what I have with my friends, but deeper. 

Something I might call love, except that would be insane. I’ve only known Linc a few days. 

In this moment, I don’t care what it’s called. It feels good. 
​
It feels right.


Excerpt from How the World Ends by Lindsey Winsemius (c) 2019
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Said the Spider to the Fly

2/19/2019

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Random Daily Writings: Spiders

I can't possibly be the only person who looks up every spider they come across?

And, confession time, I rarely release the creeply crawlies into the wild after I've captured them inside my house. I justify it to my kids by saying trespassers pay the price. 

While I certainly wouldn't say I have arachnophobia, I exercise more-than-average levels of caution when finding spiders. I do my best to capture it, identify it, and then dispose of it. Since capturing requires level of bravery I don't always manage, sometimes I'm required to attempt a positive ID on the body.

Every brown spider is recluse, and every dark spider with strange markings a possible black widow.

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Imagine my horror seeing this beauty skittering across my living room carpet? 

I took pictures and was forced to dispose of it before identifying it as a False Black Widow, or Steatoda. 

I'm practically an arachnologist (yes, that is a real thing), specializing in Michigan spiders. My fear is somewhat unfounded, as we only have two species of poisonous spiders, the Brown Recluse and Black Widow. Although I've gotten my share of very uncomfortable Wolf Spider bites in my time.

​What is it about spiders that is so terrifying? Their ability to crawl quietly into tiny holes or crevices and lie in wait for unsuspecting victims? The fear of their venomous bite? The terrible way they crawl manically across your floor in search of a place to hide in the darkness?

Even through my terror, I find spiders fascinating.  

I love to see the beautiful markings of an Orb Weaver on the large webs they weave, and I enjoy their beauty as long as they stay outside where they belong. 

Spiders have long played roles in poetry, children's stories, and even novels as villains or tiny assassins, and perhaps the unlikely hero on occasion.


Spiders as Heroes: Charlotte's Web
I'll leave you with this famous poem about the Spider and the Fly, which you've undoubtedly heard quoted before.

The Spider and the Fly
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“Will you walk into my parlour, said a Spider to a Fly;
'Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy.
The way into my parlour is up a winding stair,
And I have many pretty things to shew when you get there.
Oh, no, no! said the little Fly; to ask me is in vain:
For who goes up that winding stair shall ne'er come down again.

Said the cunning Spider to the Fly, Dear friend, what can I do
To prove the warm affection I have ever felt tor you?
I have within my parlour great store of all that's nice:
I'm sure you're very welcome; will you please to take a slice!
Oh, no, no! said the little Fly; kind sir, that cannot be;
For I know what's in your pantry, and I do not wish to see.

Sweet creature, said the Spider, you're witty and you're wise;
How handsome are your gaudy wings, how brilliant are your eyes!
I have a little looking-glass upon my parlour-shelf;
If you'll step in one moment, dear, you shall behold yourself.
Oh, thank you, gentle sir, she said, for what you're pleased to say;
And wishing you good morning now, I'll call another day.

The Spider turn'd him round again, and went into his den,
For well he knew that silly Fly would soon come back again.
And then he wore a tiny web, in a little corner sly,
And set his table ready for to dine upon the Fly;
And went out to his door again, and merrily did sing,
Come hither, pretty little Fly, with the gold and silver wing.

Alas, alas! how very soon this silly little Fly,
Hearing his wily flattering words, came slowly fluttering by.
With humming wings she hung aloft, then nearer and nearer drew.
Thinking only of her crested head and gold and purple hue:
Thinking only of her brilliant wings, poor silly thing! at last,
Up jump'd the cruel Spider, and firmly held her fast!

He dragg'd her up his winding stair, into his dismal den,
Within his little parlour; but she ne'er came down again.
And now, my pretty maidens, who may this story hear,
To silly, idle, flattering words, I pray you ne'er give ear;
Unto an evil counsellor close heart, and ear, and eye,
And learn a lesson from this tale of the Spider and the Fly.
~By Mary Howitt, 1829
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Journaling to relieve stress and increase happiness

2/4/2019

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Do you write in a journal?

Research has shown that keeping a journal can help reduce stress and increase happiness and satisfaction with your daily life.

I used to journal as a child and young adult regularly, up into college. I have shelves full of my inner thoughts and feelings, recorded in my terrible lefty scrawl for my children to either peruse or dump in my old age (or when I pass).

I always found that keeping a journal was a great way to vent emotions. As a very emotional young lady prone to depression, sometimes I felt like it helped. Other times, it would seem as if the journaling drew me deeper in the circle of negative thoughts and emotions.

Maybe I wasn't doing it right.

A friend of mine asked me not too long ago if I did a certain kind of journaling. The word she used escapes me right now, but it was basically a word dump to get worries and stressful thoughts out before starting the day. It reminded me of how much I used to enjoy journaling, and the fact that I don't do it anymore.

As we age, do you find you have less time to do the things that are best for you? Exercise, meditation, journaling...

But now, as professionals, parents, and adults, is when we need those things most.

Research shows the following:

  • Journaling decreases the symptoms of asthma, arthritis, and other health conditions.
  • It improves cognitive functioning.
  • It strengthens the immune system, preventing a host of illnesses.
  • It counteracts many of the negative effects of stress.

​There are several different kinds of journaling. I recently wrote an article for work about the positive effects of gratitude for businesses. One of the ways to increase feelings of gratitude and overall joy with your life is by keeping a gratitude journal. Keeping a gratitude journal is also supposed to help people sleep better.

Gratitude Journal

Any time of the day, but particularly before bed, take time to write down a few of things you are thankful for. This helps direct your mind to the positives in your life, rather than focusing on stressful or negative things. Another little benefit to keeping a gratitude journal is that you can look back over the positive things you've written down in the past as a reminder when you're feeling down.

Bullet Journal or Planning Journal

I love to-do lists. My sister is the same way. Nothing makes me feel more organized, and calm, than writing down all the things I need to do. A shopping list. The long list of things I need to get down for work. The house projects I need to accomplish. Chore charts. Once it is down on paper, I feel like l can release it from my mind and not thing about it. It will be there when I'm ready to focus on it.

Emotional Release

This used to be my kind of journaling. I would just write what I was feeling. This is a great way to excise negative emotions. But, as I mentioned earlier, it can sometimes drag you into a more emotional state. I've started exercising when my emotions are really high, or very low. Exercise, another great stress reliever, seems to help me better than writing in a journal. But I know exercise isn't for everyone (to be honest, it isn't really for me. I just like long walks), so releasing pent up emotions in a journal is another great option.

 Letter Journaling

Writing to someone you can't, or won't, talk to at the moment is another great way to get rid of negative emotions. Sometimes it is hard to open up in person, or we are no longer on speaking terms. Venting our frustrations in a journal entry addressed to that person is one way to get those negative emotions out and start helping you move on. 

On the flip side, it could also be a great way to release positive emotions, or even feelings of love or attraction towards someone you aren't ready to reveal how you feel yet. A note of caution to anyone who hasn't read (or watched the movie) the bestseller To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han : Don't actually address the letters. You never know when someone might mail them.

What do you think? Shall we give journaling another try? Tell me your thoughts about keeping a journal.
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Happily Ever Afters: What kind of endings do you like?

1/21/2019

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Do you prefer a happily ever after in your romance books?

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I'm a happy ending kind of girl.
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​If I read or watch something too intense before bed, I have a hard time sleeping. The lingering weight of gloom sits in my gut, twisting and roiling. My mind keeps going over alternatives that would have resulted in a more satisfactory resolution.

"But that's not realistic," my friends argue. 

I don't care. I read books to escape reality. I want to feel good after reading a book. Warm and fuzzy, or uplifted and joyful. Or that long sigh of unrequited love finally realized that makes your heart lighten.

Not everyone agrees, of course. There is a theory of eudaemonia, first used by Aristotle, to describe meaningfulness, insightfulness, and emotions that put us in touch with our humanity. Some psychologists, like Aristotle, believe in the eudaemonic rewards of unhappy endings. They make us more human; possibly more empathic or in touch with ourselves.

I will admit, there is something to be said about having a good cry after reading a moving story. I remember reading a book written by my cousin. It was unpublished, and needed a bit of fine tuning, but the story beneath was fabulous. It did not have a happy ending, and I could not stop crying over everything the main character was forced to through.

And it was rather cathartic. It did make me appreciate my own blessings more, and realize how much worse it can be.

I still think of her story, which I don't believe she ever published. (Diana, if you're reading this, you need to publish that story!)

We associate happy endings with fairy tales. But the irony is that most fairy tales originally had tragic endings, to teach children lessons about morality and making good choices.

Take Hans Christian Anderson's Little Mermaid, for example. She disobeys her family and tries something forbidden. In the original story, she dies of a broken heart and ends up as the sea foam. A cautionary tale about listening to your elders and not chasing romance. 

What kind of endings do you prefer? Happily-ever-afters? Happily-for-nows? Open-ended? Tragic?

While I can see the value of a tragedy and a good cathartic cry, I still prefer books with happy endings.

In my youth, I disliked unsatisfactory endings so much, I would sometimes flip to the last page and read it, just to make sure I wasn't going to be disappointed. Reading an emotional investment, and I didn't want to make a poor investment in a book that was going to leave me feeling bad after reading it.

I haven't changed that much. I resist reading the endings of books. But I still read the plot summary for Game of Thrones before watching an episode, because I need to know beforehand who is going to die so it isn't such a shock. It might be spoiling the surprise, but at least I can sleep better at night.

No happy endings in Game of Thrones.
Do you ever lie awake after reading a book, rehashing the ending, bemoaning the characters' choices and thinking about how they could have had a better ending? I would sometimes create my own endings for books when I wasn't pleased with what the author provided.

The most important part is the end. Like the old saying "All's well that ends well." Studies have found that people judge experiences based on the ending more than anything else. Even if an experience is highly unpleasant, if it has a more pleasant ending, they will judge it less harshly.
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Let's take childbirth as an example. How many women think back to the day their child was born with fond memories? After all, the ending more than justified the experience they needed to go through to get there.

The same can be said for a book. A great ending is necessary for us as readers to feel complete; fulfilled. A bad ending, regardless of how amazing a book was, leaves us with a bad taste in our mouths. Just like a great tasting wine can be ruined by a lingering bitter taste, a good book is ruined by a bad ending.


After going through harrowing experiences with a character, seeing them suffer and overcome those experiences, to me, I need to know they find joy in the end. Otherwise the story sits with me, like a bad meal, heavy in my gut. Undigested. Unresolved. 

After all, doesn't everyone deserve a happy ending?

I want to know what you think! Happy ever after or reality? What is your favorite kind of ending?
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5 Fabulously Different Romance Books You Need to Read

1/16/2019

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"Soooo much more than just a romance book!"

I had never been very adventurous in my reading habits. I liked the tried-and-true, formulaic bestseller romances. Historical Romance, Contemporary Romance, and perhaps if I was feeling really adventurous, a Paranormal Romance (and only when written by my favorite authors). 

Then I decided to write one of the books that had been bouncing around in my head for years. My employer ApogeeINVENT was doing some market research on an author marketing system, and I thought, what better way to learn about the market than to become an Indie author myself?

Initially, the story I wanted to tell was going to be a historical romance. But I couldn't find just the right time period to fit the story I wanted to tell - a story of an assassin and a free-spirited upper-class girl both trying to find where they belong. I decided to create my own world for my two heroes, and the dystopian world of Alba was born in my first book, Reaper.

I started reading other indie author's books. Books of all genres. I still found that romance is my passion, and the books I enjoy reading most all had romance. But they were MORE than just romance. I was thrilled when one blogger reviewed my book as being more than just romance: 
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"Yes this is a romance story but there is SOOOO much more to it ... the storyline/plot is beyond words. I loved this book and if you are looking to go outside the norm for a romance novel this would be one to try with."  Wicked Babes Reviews

5 Romance Books That are SO MUCH MORE

If you're stuck in a reading rut like I was, I've created a list of the 5 most fabulous romance books that are different from the norm. These books are mostly by Indie authors, although they are bestselling and phenomenal. If you've read them, or give them a try, please come back and tell me what you think!​
The Sun Witch: Fantasy Romance
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The Sun Witch by Linda Winstead Jones

This is a fantasy romance. I love so many things about this series (the Moon Witch, the second book, is my favorite). You don't have to read them in order, as each book is standalone, but this is the first. 

The characters are amazing. Every character has so much depth and personality. I at times find myself feeling sorry for the villains, and hoping they can be rehabilitated. The romance is so moving and real. And the world that Linda has created is phenomenal, every details carefully thought out and it is so easy to imagine being there, right beside the characters as they battle or laugh or suffer. The world has witches and demons and soldiers and emperors, and even dragons although they don't play a big role in these books. But it is all done so masterfully that you feel like the world is not that unlike our world. It reads like a romance with a side of fantasy, and I love, love, LOVE LWJ's books. Give her books a try, I know you'll love them as much as I do!

The Beautiful Dead: Post Apocalyptic Romance
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The Beautiful Dead by Daryl Banner

I believe we call this a post-apocalyptic romance, but there is a lot of mystery surrounding how the "beautiful dead" came to be, and where even they are. Regardless of the exact genre, this book is amazing. It is the first in a series, although it can read as a standalone. What I love most about this book: The unique concept, and the HUMOR! For such a dark topic, I laughed out loud more in this book than most!

Daryl creates great characters, and weaves a completely mystical and amazing world of the dead that somehow are still "living" in a Second Life. Winter, our heroine, tries to figure out how she fits into this strange new world of dead, living, and the horrors beyond. Her fleeting memories of her "first life" drive her do crazy things, all while she's hiding, and falling for, a man with a heartbeat.

I could rave on and on about this book, but just TRY IT yourself.  Then tell me what you think! 

Gladiator: Alien Sci Fi Romance Book
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Gladiator by Anna Hackett

Gladiator is an Alien Sci Fi Romance. Ok, I know how that sounds. But you don't even think about the fact that these gorgeous gladiators are from another planet. There are a lot of great fight scenes, steamy romance, and exciting plots that keep you distracted from the whole alien thing.

I've always loved the romance of Ancient Rome and the Gladiators fighting in the arena. If you like strong warrior heroes and spunky heroines (who were scientists kidnapped from an earth space station) you will love this series as much as I did. Anna weaves an amazing inter-galactic world full of amazing tech and interesting species, while still telling a great romance between Harper and Raiden.

Zinnia: Paranormal Romance Book
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Zinnia by Jayne Castle

This is a very old book. I read this as a young adult (probably one of the books I hid under my mattress because it was dirty word porn). Jayne Ann Krentz (writing as Jayne Castle) has written dozens of great Paranormal romance books since Zinnia, but this has always been one of my favorites.

In a time when people have colonized a new planet and begun developing physic abilities, Jayne writes an exciting story about a dangerous casino owner, a psychic consultant, murder mystery, and psychic vampires. Her characters are phenomenal, the romance steamy, and the mystery compelling. There is a reason she's been a bestselling romance novelist since the '80's! Grab this book if you haven't read it before, you won't regret it. Now excuse me, I want to get my copy and re-read it!

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Dragonstone Dance by Laura Winstead Jones

Yes, another LWJ book. What can I say, she's a fav of mine. Dragonstone Dance takes place in the same world as her other Fantasy Romance books (Columbyana), but this one has a new element that I avoided like the plague for years: Shape-shifting romance.

This always seemed a little too outside of the norm for me, but since I love LWJ and the world she created, I gave this one a try. I was not disappointed! A man that turns into a dragon and a demon princess? Yes, please. I love how Linara is bad, but the fierce dragon she's sworn to kill brings out the good her adoptive parents had taught her as a child. Another exciting adventure and beautiful romance by Laura. And the shape-shifting was not nearly as weird as I thought it might be.

I could go on, but I'll stop at 5 for today. Now I want to know what your favorite, out-of-the ordinary romance reads are! If you've read a great book that has romance but so much more, I want to know! Tell me about it in the comments and I might read it myself and add it to my list. 

​And if you do try one of these, I want to know what you think!

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It's FINALLY here!

11/9/2018

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I know, I've been MIA for months.

The past year has been busy, as I've been back to work now that both kids are in school and figuring out how to balance the work / home schedules.

Fiction writing has taken a back burner as I spend more time on my professional blog and content writing for ApogeeINVENT, along with my myriad of other responsibilities there.

But I've finally finished Just to Keep You, my contemporary Romantic Suspense Novel, and I'm so excited to tell you it is now available for pre-order!
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I've wanted to write a mafia romance for a long time, and its finally done. It is full of humor, suspense, and the usual unexpected ending (Did you know that was coming?! Tell me if you guessed it!).
Just to Keep You
Preorder JUST TO KEEP YOU
What is coming next? 

If you liked the Dystopian Romance series Secret of Alba, I am working on a two part prequel that tells the story of how the world first began falling apart. You'll get to meet the infamous Cecilia Delacroix in my upcoming YA Apocalyptic Romance, HOW THE WORLD ENDS.

I am also working on the second book in the Chicago Fight Club series, Just to Touch You, which tells the story of Alek's partner, Nicholas Crowne the Third. He might not be a mafia hitman trying to find legitimacy, but this billionaire heir is still pretty badass, and has plenty of his own demons to face. And if you enjoy snarky, sexy heroines, you will love Elle Rain, who has some pretty dark secrets of her own.
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The Story Behind the Story

6/13/2017

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Ever wonder how a story is born? My most recent guest post by author Roxanne Bland tells how her books started years before she ever wrote them.

Many of my books began as a story running through my head that I couldn't banish. Some stories are still waiting to be written, but their inception was years ago. Do you have a story in your head, demanding to be written? Then you might be an author... 

​The Moreva of Astoreth, a blend of science fiction, romance, and adventure, has its roots in a game a friend and I played in college. We collaborated on a story, taking turns. I don’t recall the details—it was more years ago than I care to remember—but it went something like this. A woman, the daughter of a king, is exiled from her homeland in the desert because she refused to marry a man the king had picked out for her. She travels north. After many adventures, she arrives at a village willing to take her in. The village chieftain is enamored of her, but does not want his people to know since she’s a stranger. The woman genuinely dislikes him. After being at each other’s throats for a period of time, the woman falls in love with him. The chieftain confesses his feelings. They marry. 
Meanwhile, the woman’s father, feeling remorseful for exiling his daughter, gathers his army to go look for her. They wander from village to village, searching, but they do not find her. Concluding that his daughter must have headed north, turns in that direction. Still, they do not find her. Frustrated now, the king begins laying waste to every village he and his army come across. Finally, they arrive at the village where the woman is living. The king demands his daughter return with him. She refuses, telling him she is now married and happy. Her father threatens war. The chieftain accepts his challenge, and the war begins. The story concludes with both the woman and the chieftain being killed in the fighting.
 
Not a very happy ending, is it?
 
Years later, I read Zecharia Sitchin’s Earth Chronicles series. He posits that ancient astronauts—the Annunaki—from the planet Nibiru in our solar system came to Earth looking for gold. While here, they created humans to use as workers, and founded the Sumerian civilization. Sitchin has his loyal adherents, and his scholarly detractors. But whether one believes it or not, it’s quite a tale. I’m not a believer, but I was fascinated by the story.
 
More years pass. One day, I was sitting in my office, stuck in a novel I was writing. I couldn’t figure out what to do next. Trying to get going again, I started playing the “what if” game. “What if he does this? What if she does that?” The sort of game authors—at least this author—plays. It wasn’t working. Annoyed, I leaned back in my chair and let my mind wander. It wasn’t long before I started reminiscing about my college days, specifically my friend, and the story we’d written. My mind wandered some more. I started thinking about Sitchin’s works. While ruminating over it, an idea came to me. What if I melded the two stories in some way? What if, what if, what if…?
 
And then, like Athena from Zeus’s head, the story’s outline came to me, fully formed. Which is an interesting development, since I’m a pantser—I write by the “seat of my pants,” that is, the plot takes form while I write—and not a plotter. Filing the outline away for future use, I took up my work-in-progress again. But I couldn’t get on with it. The outline I’d created kept knocking at my brain, until it was interfering with my work-in-progress. So I put it aside and started writing The Moreva of Astoreth.
 
Now here’s the funny part. I’d planned the story to take place in the spring of the planetary year. But the characters took over (they do that sometimes). And then I was a pantser again. I was working the way I usually work—I saw the “movie” in my head, and I just wrote down the events. So I ended up with a story that takes place over the course of a year, which made for a pretty big book. Still, the tale is a good one—I like to think so, anyway—and I had a lot of fun writing it.
 
And that, dear reader, is how the Moreva of Astoreth came to be.

Bio:  Roxanne Bland grew up in Washington, D.C., where she discovered strange and wonderful new worlds through her local library and bookstores. These and other life experiences have convinced her that reality is highly overrated.

Links:

Website: http://www.roxannebland.rocks
Blog: http://roxannebland.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Roxanne-Bland-Author-289392377750996/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RoxanneBland2
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/brlesq1/roxanne-bland-author/
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101 Ways to Die

5/22/2017

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Ways to Die in Dystopian and Post Apocalyptic Novels

The pleasure and pain of fictional death.

How do you feel about killing off characters? Be it book, movie, or show, there is always so much perverse pleasure from a well-deserved and gruesome death of an evil character, and beautiful sorrow in the death of a character we love. We love the emotion; the turmoil and angst. Shows like the Walking Dead and Game of Thrones depend on the tension derived from the sense that no one is safe. Any character could die at any moment. We're biting our nails. We're clenching our tissues. We're clasping our hands with gleeful anticipation. Who is going to be next? And perhaps more importantly, how are they going to meet their end?

I am a happy ending kind of girl, but I have to admit, the death of a much-loved character wrenches emotions from my soul in a way that is both terrible and wonderful at the same time. 

You'll find some of the most creative deaths by Dystopian, Post Apocalyptic, and Sci fi writers. They are diabolically ingenious.

Particularly when it comes to thinking up ways to kill off their characters.

A few of my author friends in the Band of Dystopian Authors and Fans were recently asked:

What is the most gruesome way you've ever killed off a character in your book?
Here are a few of their answers. WARNING: Some answers are quite graphic, proceed at your own risk.

Which answer is your favorite? I'm going to keep collecting answers until I get to 101, so check back or add your own in the comments and I'll include them!

  1. Betty Cross: One of my important secondary characters was shot through the heart, after electroshock didn't work. And her daughter, the MC of the book, was forced to watch.
  2. C.A. Hoaks: Zombies ate her guts out while she watched....lol.
  3. Kayla Howarth: Snapped neck and then a bullet in the head for good measure. Oh, then they burned the body just to be sure.
  4. Allyson Gottlieb: Impaled on a piece of glass from a broken window
  5. DL Young: buried to the neck in the ground, then stoned to death by an angry mob
  6. Michelle Bryan: Leg and dangly bits cut off and eaten by cannibals  😵
  7. Larry Davis: Chewed in half by a king-size robotic wolf. Okay, three pieces.
  8. Jay Guthrie: Fell in a Vat of Acid and Then A bunch of Fireworks were down the street and as he was walking home they set him on fire so an ambulance was just happening by and they put him out and loaded him up to get 10 blocks and at the Turn in for the ER and Have a Fire truck run into the Ambulance and send it over the embankment across from the Hospital to have it come to rest at the Edge of the Ohio River when a Tug boat Snatches the edge Of the Ambulance and as the guy was making his way out and throw him on Deck of the Tug boat. The Tug boat Captain called the Coast Guard and Air lifted him to The Hospital were they did the Wrong surgery on him and He got Rich and lived Happily ever After.
  9. Mike Poeltl: Knife jabbed through a gaping mouth's tongue, exits the lower jaw. Bullet to the head and then skinned for the sport of it. 
  10. Allen Gamboa: Eaten by zombies while strapped to a table.
  11. Michael Peirce: A zombie threw one of my female troopers onto the abatis full of squirming Zs, impaling her on a stake.
  12. Matthew Cox: A large mirror shatters and a rotating cyclone of glass shreds the character's skin off, then fingers, then goes deeper until they're sucked backwards through a planar rift and the mirror reforms like it never broke.
  13. Justin Vokey: slowly dissolved by alien digestive enzymes
  14. Nick A Braker: Ejected him into space, alone, with only a few hours of oxygen remaining with the knowledge there was no one able to help him. That's a lot of time to ponder your certain death
  15. Genesis Blue Davies: Torn to pieces by a cuco.
  16. Shawn P. Durnin: Castrated, being crucified to the "T" bar on the back of a tow truck with razor wire, then decapitated. Pleasing. 
  17. Caleb Hill: Dying of radiation poisoning while falling in love with an AI. Alone. In a fallout shelter.
  18. Brian Parker: Let's see, here are a few of mine from various books I've written: beheading in front of his kids; dismembered and eaten by cannibals; eviscerated and strangled with own intestines; ripped to shreds by mutated badgers (really); helicopter crash; mind taken over and bashed own head into concrete until dead; LOTS of gunshots and explosions; starvation; torture tourism (various forms of torture for a crowd's pleasure); stung and cut in half by giant mutated scorpions; torn apart by zombies... oooh, I know! I killed a squad of Nazis with a giant microwave ray that cooked them from the inside out, their blood boiled and the meat burst through their skin. That was fun. 
  19. William Bebb: Eaten be a feral herd of ravenous, yet adorably cute, kittens.
  20. Travis Sivart: Crabs tearing at their flesh as they dragged themselves across the debris left by a tidal wave. Oh, and it was a dog. Readers reacted.
  21. James Zarzana: Killed quite a few. Hard to pick one.
  22. Valerie Lioudis: Fights epic battle against mouse, frying pan in hand smashes through window and falls to driveway below perfect time to get hit by car pulling into garage
  23. Alexandre Bouchard: an electric misericorde (icepick like dagger connected to electric current) through the eye socket and the optic nerve channel, then shock the brain to fry it. 
  24. Franklin Horton: I had one guy die because someone hid copperhead snakes in the toilet. He sat down, got bit on the testicles, and suffered massive swelling. Died a painful death from urinary retention. Post-apoc situation -- no medical care.
  25. Tara Benham: Beheading
  26. Michael Dryden-Cripton: Expanding foam. ugh no need to expand on that. lol
  27. Martin Berman-Gorvine: Impalement on an iron spike
  28. Stephanie Crabtree: Too many to pick. All horrible torture.
  29. Katy Walker: Head cut off by a sword made out of glass shards.
  30. Ian D Moore: I had my lead character build what's called a Guillotine Snare using thin wire, a tree branch, pliers and a couple of well-placed nails. When activated, the wire cut clean through the victim at forty-five degrees from her left hip to top right shoulder. As her left arm fell to the floor, her body began to slide as her legs still struggled to balance her severed torso.
  31. Brea Behn Author: Burned, stabbed and then fell to his death.
  32. Alfonso Acunia: 10 of my Main Characters died in One Big Battle They Got Blown up Eaten stabbed Lost a duel won a duel then died Burned Dissolved Electrocuted Shot Fell off a Terrace crushed Run over by a MonsteTruck plane Exploded.... but the side that they fought for won
  33. Lara Fanning: This question haha. Only on BoD. I'm about to have a character skinned alive by a demonic entity  😐Luckily the fellow doesn't die and is healed as it's set in a fantasy world.
  34. Jason Levii O'Hara: most gruesome? it's a tossup. I have killed so many characters in different ways that I have really not thought much about which was the most gruesome.
  35. Sean T. Smith: Hog tied after being shot in the balls, floating in the Everglades, nibbled on by sharks, before bring devoured by an alligator.
  36. Lisa Lane: I had a character sew sock puppets into a person's hands, complete with button eyes and yarn hair, then run fishing line through his arms and legs to turn him into a living puppet. He and a few others presumably die of septic shock.
  37. Jon Messenger: Heart forcefully ripped from his chest (in a sci-fi book)
  38. Kell Frillman: well the basic skull being bashed in ... but in front of their child.
  39. Ashleigh Reynolds: Hmmmm probably wood-chipper. Or being torn apart piece by piece.
  40. Ken Harrelson: Slow steamed to death
  41. Richard Correll: 5 years After: 2.0 The Drumhead The skin had shredded open like wrapping paper on a present. First one pair and then a second burrowed into the red, meaty sustenance. Maggie felt herself start to shiver. Are you cold, sweetheart? She thought she heard her mother say. 
    “No, I don’t feel anything.” She whispered back. 
    The probing, pasty hands burrowed up to the wrist and then the muscles on their arms tensed and pulled. Aaron’s body was off the pavement for a second and then landed back on the cold surface. Aaron’s legs convulsed like a fish out of water.. He can feel what’s happening to him. Maggie’s thought was just a whisper in her ear as she watched. More faces appeared out of the solid forest of limbs to tear in to his skin. The look on their faces was hypnotic, delirious at taking down their prey. Is this what wolves are like? The hands on the back were pulling…. 
    And pulling …….. 
    And pulling…….. 
    Murphy’s voice was a random collection of verbs and syllables that never approached meaning. Maggie watched bloodied skin start to peel back and split in several places at once. It was like the fractures of an ice shelf before it gave way. The tears appeared near other wounds on his skin and began to snake together before the whiteness of his back disappeared in a bath of blood. More hands plunged into the crimson, murky fluid and something of substance appeared to rear itself. As they pulled it away, the ribcage started to bend and snap in spots. Maggie’s mouth slowly parted as a snake like object appeared. 
    The spinal column, inside she felt almost drunk to the world. Come inside, sweety. You look so cold…….. 
  42. Pheebz Jackson: Being Flayed alive. in the book Give: An Anthology of Anatomical Entries. It was fun researching the interments they used for this barbaric practice.Not recommended for those with weak constitutions.
  43. Ken Harrelson: I turned one into a clown. Not quite dead but somehow worse.
  44. Tamara Wilhite: Death by nanites.
  45. Kristan L. Cannon: *brain freezes as she recounts the nearly 40 deaths of named characters in the first book alone... and that she's up to four published books in the same series...*
  46. Greg Jeffery: Ammunition called a 'singularity round'. It collapses a wad of flesh down to the size of a pinpoint then expands it rapidly, shredding the body.
  47. Drew Gideon: Shotgun blast to the head from about two feet away...after having a huge dog rip the back of his legs to shreds.
  48. Molly Phipps: I have a particularly gruesome death planned for a character in my next book. So far it's just been neck breakings and getting shot
  49. Rebecca Piazza: My main characters mother carved her old companions heart from her chest while she was alive...
  50. Stephen Drivick: Fingers bitten off by zombies. Had to be put down by friend.
  51. Christopher Artinian: Doused in diesel and set alight, while tied to a chair.
  52. RJ Kennett: Tough one. The guy tied down to a bed while a zombie fed on him, or the dog thrown to zombies as a distraction for escape.
  53. Craig McDonald: Head partially severed by knife cut, with the coup de grace of the knife embedded in the side of the head.
  54. Dawn Peers: Hmm there's a few options. I'm going with "suffocated with an acid-soaked sponge shoved down their throat"
  55. [Add your answer here by commenting below! It can be a book your wrote or read.]
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Hug an Author! It's National Authors Day

11/1/2016

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Happy National Author Day
Thanks to all the beautiful authors whose words have been my therapy and my inspiration, that have driven me to laugh, cry, and filled my heart over the years.

And you, dear readers, who step into our minds and hearts through our works and give us a reason to keep writing.


Since I could first hold a pencil, I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. Stories of all kinds filled my head. I'd be creating fantasy worlds during long church sermons, when I couldn't sleep at night, on the bus ride home, and any time I had moments to myself.

I read voraciously, and was quite young when I started stealing my mom's smutty romance novels. I'd have to hide them under my mattress, because my parents deemed them inappropriate for a child of my age (and probably rightly so!).

I loved books. All books. Reading has been my favorite pass-time, my personal escape, and the key to worlds I could never imagine or might never visit.

In college, I put away my dreams of being a writer, focusing on more practical careers options that have led me to my current career in marketing. However, the dream of being a writer always lingered. Last year, after working with indie authors on a research project for work, my husband encouraged me to do the ultimate research about being an indie author and become one myself.

I took up the challenge, and on July of 2015, I published my first book, dystopian romance REAPER.

The life of a writer is full of ups and downs; of hating my work and the exhilaration of a great review. Of days spent deleting text I'd just written, and other days pounding out chapters I'm excited to share.

Authorship is still more of a hobby than a career for me, but it has gotten into my blood, like heroin, and I need it now. I can't stop thinking about it, and looking for stolen moments to get high on my drug of choice, tucked in the corner of my living room on my laptop, creating the worlds and weaving words that have always lived in my head, and are now begging to get out.

Thanks to the authors who've inspired me, the indies who struggle alongside me, and the most of all, the READERS who voraciously devour the beloved words we've put to paper.

Happy National Author Day! 

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10 Reasons We Love Zombies (and a Giveaway)

10/30/2016

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Welcome to this page of the Zombie Crawl!
10 Reasons We Love Zombies

Don't forget to enter my GIVEAWAY by telling me your favorite Zombie book or movie in the comments and filling out the entry form! (Details at the end of the post)

If you're here, it is probably because you share my obsession: you love anything apocalypse, post apocalypse, or dystopian. And what better apocalypse than a Zombie Apocalypse?

Have you ever wondered why so many adore the mindless, gory, shambling flesh-eaters? Why do we love Zombies so much, in literature, film, and on Halloween?

Below are the 10 reasons I believe Zombies hold such a special place in our hearts, even though theirs may not still be beating. In no particular order...

10 Reasons We Love Zombies:

1. Terrifyingly impossible.


Attacks from terrorist, catastrophic natural disasters, and the slow destruction of our natural world… These are all terrifyingly real things that threaten mankind. But Zombies? They’re just pure entertainment without the genuine fear that comes with these other apocalyptic scenarios. 

We all logically know a Zombie Apocalypse is a scientific impossibility. Don’t just take my word for it. Cracked wrote an entire article about the scientific reasons that a Zombie Apocalypse would fail.

I’ll summarize for you:
  1. Too many natural predators.
  2. They can’t take the heat (and advanced decomposition)
  3. They can’t handle the cold. (Zombie Popsicle, anyone?)
  4. Biting is a terrible way to spread a disease…which is why rabies haven’t ended the world as we know it.
  5. They can’t heal from day-to-day damage.
  6. The landscape is full of zombie-proof barriers. Bridges, mountains, canyons, doors… all these pose a problem to the shambling hoard.
  7. Weapons and people who use them. There are more guns in the United States than people. Guilt-free hunting season is open, and you don’t even need a license. Those Zombies don’t stand a chance.

While books like Max Brook’s World War Z (which was made into a much-less convincing movie) might make the impossible sound probable, we all are quite aware of how unlikely a Zombie apocalypse really is. Which is why we can enjoy our Zombies, Undead, Walking Dead, Lexers, or whatever we’re calling them today, without an uncomfortable underlying fear that hey, this might actually be mankind’s fate in the near future…


10 Reasons We Love Zombies
2. Killing them is guilt-free.

As an author, it is my job to make sure the bad guys or girls are really bad, so when I off them in the end, we can all cheer together. But often, we still feel a bit of uncomfortable pity or guilt for the death of another human being (and least I hope you do, you sociopath, you). Zombies remove this guilt, because they are already dead. 

We can all cheer on the machete-wielding, crossbow bearing survivors that are madly stabbing, decapitating, or shooting the undead. Did he just stab a child? It is ok, because he was actually helping to free her from the horrible fate of zombieism. It is sad, it is terrible, but we can comfort ourselves with the knowledge that they really aren’t killing sentient beings, but rather an already-dead monster.

No guilt, no sorrow, but plenty of gore. Booya, motherf*cker.

10 Reasons We Love Zombies
3. Society gets the punishment they deserve.

How many times have we seen people doing shitty things that we pray karma will pay them back for? Like that jerk who cut you off on the freeway, or the asshole who treated you poorly at work, or the really bad server at the restaurant who you’re pretty sure spit in your food, and maybe even urinated in your soup. 

What better punishment for a entitled, ungrateful society than ZOMBIES. It is basically karma for our destruction of other species, our planet, and crappy driving habits. 

4. Zombies give us an enemy to fight.

In many apocalyptic scenarios, like a natural disaster or the disappearance of natural resources or a nuclear holocaust, we don’t have anything to fight except nature. And there is only so much running from flood waters or shaking with fear while a earthquake destroys entire continents that is entertaining. We like to have a clear enemy to face. In a Zombie Apocalypse, the 'bad guys' are all around, and killing them is guilt-free (See #1 above). 

Zombies are the perfect enemy because they are mindless, non-sentient beings to decimate without remorse. They are also terrifying, disgusting, and just dangerous enough to keep us biting our nails in anticipation of the next surge that will always, ALWAYS appear unannounced at the most inopportune moment.

Thank you, Zombies, for stepping up and being the enemy horror fans really need.



5. The great equalizer.

At the end of the world, we’re all equal. It doesn’t matter what kind of sports car you drive, or how big your mansion, or what brand of clothing you’re wearing (unless it is Kevlar, and then you might have an advantage). We’re all at risk for a bite, and nobody gives a shit about your money; it is basically fire kindling at that point. 

The only people with an advantage are people with guns, survival skills, or a secret bunker underground equipped for years. (Since apparently the undead do not decay. Ever.) And even these folks usually meet a bad end. No one is safe. No one is superior. In the event of a Zombie apocalypse, we’re truly all equal in the eyes of the hungry hoards. They’ll eat anything.



10 Reasons We Love Zombies
10 Reasons We Love Zombies
 
6. Gore, gore, and (I can’t look away!) more gore.


It’s the train-wreck phenomenon. We hate to see the horror, but we can’t look away. Something about humanity is fascinated by terrible things happening to others. Perhaps we feel better knowing it wasn’t us. Perhaps we need the pure emotional response that comes from viewing tragedy. Or perhaps we’re just a really f*cked up race… Whatever the case, something about gore, violence, and tragedy calls to us on an emotional level that we just can’t look away.

Zombies give us the gore and horror in buckets. By the mouthful. And at the end of a machete. So get your eyeful, and rest easy knowing it was all stage-makeup and superior acting.

7. Zombie apocalypse breaks past society’s barriers and reveals humanity’s core.

Yeah, I know, now I’m getting a little philosophical for a fun little “listical”. But even the shoot ‘em ups need a moment of gravity.
My favorite part of writing post apocalyptic / dystopian fiction (or whatever the hell we’re calling it these days) is the chance to really consider the human psyche and how we as individuals and as groups will react to such harsh scenario. When faced with tough choices, like kill or be killed, what would a mother do? A sister? A husband? What would I do?

Zombie literature and movies allow us to glimpse the dark or good side of humanity when put to such tests.

At our core, are we all just animals, trying to survive? To procreate? To feed? Or can even the animals the live inside our humanity show love, give mercy, or endure the end of the world?

8.  Zombies can be amusing.

At the end of the world, we all need a moment of levity. And if we can’t laugh at the shambling, moaning, and limbless monstrosities, what can we laugh about?

If you've ever seen a Zombie movie or read a book, you already know the scariest thing at the end of the world is OTHER HUMANS, not the undead. So go ahead and giggle a little watching the antics of the walking dead.


9. Zombies never get old.

See what I did there? We never get sick of Zombies, and they also don’t age. Because they’re dead…

Ehem, anyway, Zombies have evolved over the years. We’ve seen the fast running rage zombies, shambling undead, mutated creature zombies, even animated Zombies our children can enjoy. And we’ve loved them all. 

10. Zombies make great Halloween costumes.

Do I really need to say more? What is more fun than dressing up (or down), smearing some blood all over ourselves, moaning like a mindless ninny, and wandering aimlessly down the street?
​
I can’t think of anything else better, either. Enjoy your Halloween! 
​


​GIVEAWAY​

Tell me your favorite Zombie movie or book in the comments below (or on my Facebook Page) and fill out the form to enter to win a $10 Amazon Gift Card and an ebook copy of my dystopian romance REAPER.

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY NOW!
​

​

Allow me to introduce myself.  I'm Lindsey Winsemius, the author of a Dystopian Romance series the Secret of Alba. I love hanging with my kids, walking the beaches of West Michigan, and talking about the end of the world. Be sure to follow me on any of my social sites or join my newsletter to keep in touch, and join the conversation! I love to hear from readers!
Secret of Alba Series

z-crawl-schedule

Zombie Crawl 3

a blog party from Band of Dystopian Authors & Fans

October 24 - 31, 2016

How it works: Each day, the scheduled authors and bloggers will post awesome zombie-tastic content for your enjoyment along with a giveaway on their site/blog/page. You can hop around to all of the participating sites and enter as many giveaways as you like! The easiest way to make sure you don't miss a post is to join our Facebook event page, where we'll post links each time an author or blogger participates on their scheduled day. We'll also have several flash giveaways on the event page as well as a grand prize giveaway on BandofDystopian.com. And of course, you can use the schedule below to click through to each site. Make sure to leave comments and interact with the participating sites. Have fun, and thanks for joining the party!

The Schedule

OCTOBER 24 – Monday

Jeffrey Clare (publisher, group host)

Christina L. Rozelle (author)

OCTOBER 25 – Tuesday

Digital Dirty Girl Book Blog (blog)

Rissa Blakeley (author)

OCTOBER 26 – Wednesday

R.L. Blalock (author)

Bryan Way (author)

Post-Apocalyptic Playground (blog)

OCTOBER 27 – Thursday

Claire C. Riley (author)

M. Lauryl Lewis (author)

OCTOBER 28 – Friday

The Voluptuous Book Diva (18+ blog)

YA Book Divas (blog)

Grivante (author)

OCTOBER 29 – Saturday

Kate L. Mary (author)

Brea Behn (author)

OCTOBER 30 – Sunday

Cameo Renae (author)

J.W. Vohs (author)

OCTOBER 31 – Monday

Kelsey D. Garmendia (author)

Lindsey Winsemius (author)

Casey Hays (author)

Lee Ryder (author)

- - -

To learn more about Band of Dystopian and/or to enter our Grand Prize Giveaway, visit BandofDystopian.com and don’t forget to join the group on Facebook!

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